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U.S. organic fresh apple exports up 33%
The U.S. organic products trade deficit for the first nine months of 2017 was over $1.1 billion, with organic imports reaching $1.6 billion, while exports came in at $433 million, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trade statistics released Friday.
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New technology may take greenhouses offline
Plants grown in this 'smart' greenhouse fared as well or better than plants grown in conventional greenhouses.
The first crops of tomatoes and cucumbers grown inside electricity-generating solar greenhouses were as healthy as those raised in conventional greenhouses, according to a new report by the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Organic Industry across the globe continues to grow
“Provisional calculations indicate that the turnover generated by the global market for organic food and drink in 2016 was close to USD 90bn. There were high growth rates in all the world’s major regions, but in North America and northern Europe in particular,” Amarjit Sahota from the London-based business consultancy Ecovia Intelligence (formerly Organic Monitor) told.
However concerns regarding the supply security of organic raw materials are increasing.
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Next-gen GMO techniques to be kept out of organics
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted Thursday to approve adding three genetic engineering techniques to its list of excluded methods for organics.
The NOSB, the 15-member panel recommending organic policy to the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP), wrapped up its biannual meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.
The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is prohibited in organic production and handling as excluded methods. Historically, such GE techniques involved cell fusion and recombinant DNA technology.
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Top producer of organic wine grapes debuts first sustainability report
Fetzer Vineyards, the world’s largest winery to obtain B Corp certification, on Wednesday released its first sustainability report.
Hopland, Calif.-based Fetzer, one of the world's largest growers of organically grown grapes, farming about 1,000 acres organically in Mendocino, Calif., is a subsidiary of Chile-based Vina Concha y Toro S.A., the world's fifth largest wine company, which purchased Fetzer from Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman in 2011 for $238 million.
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"I would like to make organics available, accessible and affordable to everyone. I would like to leave something better than I have found it, essentially being a steward of the land."
Kate Hitchcock
Mesa Packing, LLC and American Farms/G&H Farms
